SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Hawaii
has the largest concentration of endangered and threatened species in the
world, a majority of which are birds. Of more than one hundred types of
endemic Hawaiian birds, more than two-thirds are already extinct and over eighty
per cent of those that remain are threatened with extinction. Furthermore,
there are more than fourteen million seabirds that rely on habitats in the
Hawaiian archipelago. It is imperative that the State protect these endangered
and endemic animals if an oil or fuel-related disaster affecting native
wildlife were to occur.

The Hawaii Wildlife Center's mission is to
conserve Hawaii's native wildlife through emergency response, rehabilitation,
education, and research. The Center is the only native wildlife emergency
response and rehabilitation facility in the State and in the Pacific Islands region.
In addition, the Center is the only facility within the State that meets all
federal and state standards for accommodating a large-scale rescue and
rehabilitation effort targeting sick, injured, or oiled wildlife. A purpose built
and operational oiled-wildlife response facility is the standard set for highly
successful emergency responses as it provides efficient, state-of-the-art
wildlife care, provides control of animal and hazardous waste handling and
tracking, and ensures the safety of everyone working with oiled wildlife. Also,
the Center serves as a critical emergency response facility for the training of
response personnel and volunteers and for the rehabilitation of injured, sick,
and contaminated wildlife throughout the Pacific Islands region.

The purpose of this Act is to support the operations of an environmental disaster
standby and response facility to respond to oil and fuel-related disasters
affecting native wildlife in the State through the environmental response
revolving fund.

"(b) Moneys
from the fund shall be expended by the department for response actions and
preparedness, including removal and remedial actions, consistent with this
chapter; provided that the revenues generated by the environmental response,
energy, and food security tax deposited into the environmental response revolving
fund:

(2) May also be used to support environmental
protection and natural resource protection programs, including [energy]:

(A)Support for the operations of an
environmental disaster standby and response facility in the State that shall be
responsible for the recovery and rehabilitation of native wildlife that are
sickened, injured, or contaminated as a result of an oil or fuel-related
disaster in the State;

(B)Energy conservation [and
alternative];

(C)Alternative energy
development[,]; and [to address]

(D)Addressing concerns related
to air quality, global warming, clean water, polluted runoff, solid and
hazardous waste, drinking water, and underground storage tanks, including
support for the underground storage tank program of the department and funding
for the acquisition by the State of a soil remediation site and facility."

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

Amends Environmental Response Revolving Fund to support
the operations of an environmental disaster standby and response facility in
the State for the recovery and rehabilitation of native wildlife due to oil- or
fuel-related disaster. Effective July 1, 2013. (HB988 CD1)

The
summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational
purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.